Students from St Paul's Way Community School record their journeys to school with artists Susan Stockwell and Jeremy Wood

Year 9 students from St Paul’s Way Community School in Tower Hamlets, London, worked with artists Susan Stockwell and Jeremy Wood. Their work is displayed as part of the Mapping Beyond exhibition series at Rivington Place.

The students generated material for this project from their everyday journeys to their school in Tower Hamlets and also to Iniva at Rivington Place in Shoreditch. They first made sketchbooks that unfold into long strips and then captured the features of their travels in them.

They drew and annotated their observations as they were walking and when they were on the bus. Their individual journey maps are their own personal narratives of their experiences. They then produced collaborative maps based on GPS data that recorded the actual shape of the route.

Journey Maps is part of Creative Mapping, a three-year learning initiative involving schools and colleges in East London.

Journey maps April 2008
Students’ journey map books
Photo: Sam Hill

Journey Maps April 2008
Students’ journey map books
Photo: Sam Hill

Journey Maps April 2008
Year 9 student on a bus with journey map
Photo: Sam Hill

Journey Maps April 2008
Year 9 students work on their journey maps
Photo: Sam Hill